Cribbs’ 32.5 average means all the more because he has had so many attempts. It isn’t inflated by one or two lucky returns on which somebody missed tackles. Keeping it up, he said, will be “tremendously hard.”

“When you’re doing well,” he said, “they’re gonna kick it away from you. Or if you get those short kicks, you wind up with good field position, but it kills the average.”

No NFL returner has finished with an average as high as Cribbs’ 32.5 since 1985, when Ron Brown came in at 32.8 on just 28 tries.

Two Bears Hall of Famers have led the league in kick-return average:

- Walter Payton, 31.7, 14 tries, 1975.

- Gale Sayers, 31.2, 23 tries, 1966.

The top four seasons in Browns history:

- Billy Lefear, 31.7, 13 tries, 1975.

- Billy Reynolds, 29.5, 14 tries, 1954.

- Bo Scott, 28.9, 25 tries, 1969.

- Greg Pruitt, 28.3, 16 tries, 1973.

LeFear, Reynolds and Pruitt totaled 43 returns in those seasons as opposed to Cribbs’ 47 already in 2007.

It remains to be seen how opponents can neutralize Cribbs with offbeat kickoffs. Cribbs also is a punt returner now, ranking 11th in the NFL with an 11.1 average. Heading into Arizona, he is well aware the Cardinals allowed a 75-yard punt return to Baltimore’s Yamon Figurs.

“If they choose not to kick off to (Cribbs), then it’s going to be tough for him,” Head Coach Romeo Crennel said. “But as a punt returner, it’s going to be hard for them not to let him have an opportunity.
“On kickoffs, they’ll try to foul up the timing with mortar kicks, squib kicks and liners.

“If we adjust to it, then we’ll still be able to get a good return, because once Josh gets his hands on the ball, you never know what’s going to happen.”